The Greek government began its first mass-firing of public-sector workers in more than 100 years this week, part of an effort to lay off 180,000 by 2015 under Europe-imposed austerity.

Pushed by its European creditors amid its crippling economic crisis, Greece began this week to do something it hasn't done in more than 100 years: fire public-sector workers en masse.

Following weeks of tough negotiations with its lenders  the "troika" of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank  the Greek government started laying off public-sector workers in an effort to implement the austerity that the troika has demanded. The first two civil servants were let go on Wednesday under a new law that speeds up the process  one, a policeman, for stealing debit cards, and the other for 110 days of unexcused absence.

The mass layoffs were announced last week in a televised address by the Greek prime minister himself, Antonis Samaras. Despite the massive unemployment in Greece, the goal of the government has become the laying off of 180,000 civil servants by 2015. This is not a human sacrifice," said Prime Minister Samaras. Its an upgrading of the public sector and its one demand of Greek society.

"Its an upgrading of the public sector and its one demand of Greek society."

Oh, yeah, now that's a righteous upgrade--the kind that American society will demand in the near future. It's going to happen. There's no other way out. This is a default process. Better sooner than later.

By now, most of you should know why the socialists have been even more hysterical than usual in their desperate efforts to panic the private sector with threats against the rights of our nation. There's not enough money to keep their hordes of debt-dependent constituents acting up in offices and classrooms, and making money worthless (inflation) won't work for them, either. Where there's no value, there's no value. And bond investors cannot prop them up for long (haircuts coming).

14
posted on 04/27/2013 6:15:07 PM PDT
by familyop
(We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)

Very true. The attacking "zombies" won't be those sitting around and immobile on food subsistence from the government. They'll be the folks perceiving themselves as being more entitled recipients of larger government incomes--those currently with prestige, authority and greater means for making trouble (transportation, fuel, weapons, fatter unemployment checks, etc.) and enough vanity to get madder and cause more damage.

16
posted on 04/27/2013 6:23:00 PM PDT
by familyop
(We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)

Very true. The attacking "zombies" won't be those sitting around and immobile on food subsistence from the government. They'll be the folks perceiving themselves as being more entitled recipients of larger government incomes--those currently with prestige, authority and greater means for making trouble (transportation, fuel, weapons, fatter unemployment checks, etc.) and enough vanity to get madder and cause more damage.

“those layoffs amd firings are still 180,000 family and individual tragedies”

Right you are. I don’t like it when certain Freepers insist on treating all public sector workers as if they are lepers and less than human beings with families and friends, just like private sector workers have. In fact such callous disregard makes me sick. There are public sector cops, military, health workers, teachers, etc. just trying to get by in life like anyone else, and when some Freepers paint with a broad brush they do a disservice to themselves and others with their mean spiritedness. Not particularly Christian in attitude.

I don’t understand the vicious and visceral hatred of all public workers. There are an over abundance of public workers that needs paring down, but one doesn’t have to be joyful at their loss of work and livelihood. It could happen to anyone, public or private sector. Go after the politicians, almost all liberals, who create such situations in the first place and the Union bosses who manipulate their union underlings to keep their own power and take their money to live high off the hog with so they can be just like the corporate elites they bad mouth. And then go after the Wall Street elites who thrive while Main Street suffers. There are plenty of people to go after without attacking the average worker bee out there, public or private.

21
posted on 04/27/2013 9:57:07 PM PDT
by flaglady47
(When the gov't fears the people, liberty; When the people fear the gov't, tyranny.)

True, but when the public sees a cop get busted for molesting a 13 year old, is he fired? Hell no!

He's put on PAID leave, pending an "investigation", which finds him not guilty. Courtesy of the union.

Ditto public school teachers, ditto mayors, ditto pretty much 95% of "public servants" who get caught doing rotten, illegal acts that would land a regular citizen in the pokey for a LONG time.

You're correct that not all public sector folks are bad. It's just that we see so much corruption. On a daily basis. Like the woman in California who's contract stipulates that she MUST be the highest paid employee in the county. 400K per year is just not ENOUGH for her. She wants MORE.

I know of a guy at USC down here who barely shows up at all to his job, if he does expect some lights to be turned on at most. The guy has vandalized at least one VIP’s car on the property and all he had to do was pay for damages. The guy is very unremarkable in every way but somehow he is immune to the effects of what he does. It has been going on for years. While I was there (another department) I got nothing but grief and misery trying to efficient, competent, and keep up with the ever changing whims of the hag that ran the place. She left a while back for TD Bank. I feel sort of sorry for TD. What little contract work I did for them, I liked the people I ran into generally.

Another open secret at another state agency is an entrenched manager that openly sleeps on the back dock a lot in plain view or in his office and has for many years. He must have something good on someone or a friend in a really high place.

25
posted on 04/28/2013 4:35:53 AM PDT
by wally_bert
(There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)

I dont understand the vicious and visceral hatred of all public workers.

Its not hard to understand. The private sector contributes heavily to pay for health insurance and retirement. The public sector doesn't. The private sector also gets to pay for the public sector. The public sector then gets all sorts of protections and special treatments. Maybe John Edwards was right, there really are two Americas. The public and private sectors. Throw in the unions and you have the trifecta.

“I dont understand the vicious and visceral hatred of all public workers. “

Ask yourself what private employee is paid with funds that are source from money taken by force from private citizens.

Yes, some people work for defense contractors, or other companies working on government contracts. But no one has a beef about legitimate functions of government. But as others have posted, mix in the gold plated benefits, the can’t be fired job status, and the let’s raise taxes instead of lay off workers attitude toward bad times.

“Government bureaucrats thrown out of work - a wonderful sight anywhere it happens. I may just take my next vacation in Athens so’s I can watch.”

Save your money; come to NJ. We’ve been laying off for years now, since our property taxes can’t increase more than 2% and our teachers’ unions insist on 4+% raises. Lots of cops, firemen, teachers, and public works people here have been thrown out into the real world (and are seeking greener pastures elsewhere - towns here won’t be hiring for decades).

As Margaret Thatcher said, eventually the Socialistic Welfare State runs out of other peoples’ money. Now we get to see what happens when we reach that point. And these people have no real skills that will translate into real jobs. I suspect it isn’t going to be pretty and it will involve a lot of violence.

34
posted on 04/29/2013 6:09:47 AM PDT
by Opinionated Blowhard
("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")

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